interpreter

American  

[in-tur-pri-ter] / ɪnˈtɜr prɪ tər /

noun

• interpreters
  plural

1. a person who interprets.

2. a person who provides an oral translation between speakers who speak different languages.

3. Computers.

   1. hardware or software that transforms one statement at a time of a program written in a high-level language into a sequence of machine actions and executes the statement immediately before going on to transform the next statement.

   2. an electromechanical device that reads the patterns of holes in punched cards and prints the same data on the cards, so that they can be read more conveniently by people.

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interpreter British  

/ ɪnˈtɜːprɪtə /

noun

1. a person who translates orally from one language into another

2. a person who interprets the work of others

3. computing

   1. a program that translates a second program to machine code one statement at a time and causes the execution of the resulting code as soon as the translation is completed

   2. a machine that interprets the holes in a punched card and prints the corresponding characters on that card

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interpretership
  noun
• interpretress
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• interpreters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of interpreter

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English interpretour, from Anglo-French; equivalent to interpret + -er ²

Explanation

An interpreter is someone who translates something to make it understandable, usually spoken language. When your class takes a trip to Russia, you’ll likely have an interpreter to translate Russian to English so you can understand what people are saying to you. Need to talk to someone who doesn't speak your language? You'll need an interpreter. Say you're interviewing a Bulgarian diplomat, but you don't speak Bulgarian. The interpreter would listen to a few sentences in Bulgarian and then repeat them in English, and then listen to your English response and repeat that in Bulgarian. We also use interpreter for artists who represent ideas or places in their work. If you paint industrial cityscapes, you're an interpreter of urban life.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

interpreter interpreters

He developed a surprising reputation as an interpreter of Rachmaninoff and other romantics disliked by modernists.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

"Coming from a modest background, success has never led him to abandon his principles or his values," adds Lamrani, who also worked as Marcelo Bielsa's disciplinary coach and interpreter at Leeds United.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

He appeared with the aid of an Arabic interpreter and when asked how he wished to plea, denied having piloted the dinghy.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Sometimes, when Wallace cannot effectively communicate with coaches or teammates, he enlists the help of his interpreter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

When the commissioner arrived, he informed an interpreter, “Tell these gentlemen that I am sorry that I have another appointment at this time—I am sorry I had forgotten about it until just now.”

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Unlike spoken-language interpreters, ASL interpreters speak concurrently with their client’s signing, creating unique challenges.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026

It’s no surprise that multiple language interpreters will be on set, says Bernad.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026

As one of the site’s Nation Builders—first-person interpreters portraying figures of Revolutionary America—Smith regularly fields autograph requests and accepts gifts: a custom mug tiled with his own face, a vinyl album of original Jefferson ballads.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

Bettye LaVette continues to shine as one of our most underrated interpreters and performers, with a version of “Oh Mercy”’s “Everything Is Broken.”

From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2026

This mix of letters and pictographs caused some grief for earlier interpreters.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• artist
• commentator
• editor
• exponent
• linguist
• philosopher
• scholar
• writer